Ping Pong Playa (2007)

IMDb plot summary: A kid dreams of playing professional basketball in order to escape his dead-end job, living in the suburbs, his bossy older brother and running his Mom's ping pong classes.
Directed by Jessica Yu. Starring Jimmy Tsai, Andrew Vo, Khary Payton, and Jim Lau.

In many ways, this follows a pretty typical sports movie trajectory. There's the underdog, the unusually high stakes for the big game, the mean jerks on the opposing team. But it feels a bit fresher and newer because of the unusual choice of sport (ping-pong) and because of our main character, who thinks of himself as a much more important athlete than we do as an audience. He consistently straddles the line between entertaining and annoying but ultimately lands on the former for me. The movie overall is fun and sweet and has enough going for it that I had a good time watching it, even if it didn't stand out a whole lot.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Ping Pong Playa > Molly's Game
Ping Pong Playa < Show Me Love
Ping Pong Playa < Bridge of Spies
Ping Pong Playa < War Horse
Ping Pong Playa > Company (2011)
Ping Pong Playa > The Mistress of Spices
Ping Pong Playa > Don Jon
Ping Pong Playa > Charlie St. Cloud
Ping Pong Playa > Bill Cunningham New York
Ping Pong Playa > Safety Not Guaranteed
Ping Pong Playa < The Tourist
Final spot: #1269 out of 2893.

Love Story (1970)

IMDb plot summary: A boy and a girl from different backgrounds fall in love regardless of their upbringing - and then tragedy strikes.
Directed by Arthur Hiller. Starring Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, and Ray Milland.

This is... adequate, but with the title and the big dramatic ending music, it sets it up as if it's a movie that makes some sort of enormous meaningful statement about the nature of love. It doesn't. It's just your run-of-the-mill romantic tearjerker. The characters have decent chemistry but it's extraordinarily difficult to get a sense of who they are outside of their relationship. And the classic line from the film is dumb (as O'Neal himself proclaims in his later film What's Up, Doc?).

How it entered my Flickchart:
Love Story < Molly's Game
Love Story > The Queen
Love Story < Tag
Love Story > Firewall
Love Story < Larry-Boy! & the Fib from Outer Space
Love Story > Ocean's Twelve
Love Story < Star Wars Uncut
Love Story < Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Love Story < Fifth of July
Love Story > Neverwas
Love Story > McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Love Story < The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Final spot: #1938 out of 2892.

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

IMDb plot summary: Decades after her original visit, the magical nanny returns to help the Banks siblings and Michael's children through a difficult time in their lives.
Directed by Rob Marshall. Starring Emily Blunt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, and Emily Mortimer.

(Spoilers ahead.)

For all the stars' insistence that this is a sequel, not a remake... it's a sequel that is obviously attempting to be a remake. It's almost ridiculous how exactly they copied things over from the original, especially in regards to musical numbers. A group of Cockney street workers sing and dance an elaborate number using their work elements as props? Check. Cheery ending song in the park about flying? Check. Gentle lullaby? Check. A visit to one of Mary Poppins' relatives where they end up hanging out on the ceiling? Check. Animated penguins? Check. And the musical numbers in this movie ARE a lot of fun. But it's missing the coherent narrative that made the original one so great. The message of the original was clearly about how Mr. Banks needed to stop prioritizing work and status over his children, but the message here is... don't worry if you're about to lose all your possessions? Because that's a silly message. And the original movie solved its problems through a change of heart, but the problems here have to be solved through... a fast-paced action sequence that involve all the lamplighters in the area climbing to the top of Big Ben. That's such a departure from the tone of the original that it feels like whoever penned this just watched the songs in the '64 version and then fast-forwarded through all the boring talky bits. It all adds up to a great musical but a far inferior movie as a whole.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Mary Poppins Returns > Peter Pan (1960)
Mary Poppins Returns < Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
Mary Poppins Returns > Bridge of Spies
Mary Poppins Returns > Idiocracy
Mary Poppins Returns > The Scarlet and the Black
Mary Poppins Returns > Le bonheur
Mary Poppins Returns > M
Mary Poppins Returns < Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Mary Poppins Returns < What the Deaf Man Heard
Mary Poppins Returns < Under the Skin
Mary Poppins Returns > Topsy-Turvy

Final spot: #743 out of 2891. That seems generous but I'll let it stand. Those musicals numbers were beautifully executed.

The Favourite (2018)

IMDb plot summary: In early 18th century England, a frail Queen Anne occupies the throne and her close friend, Lady Sarah, governs the country in her stead. When a new servant, Abigail, arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah.
Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos. Starring Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, and Nicholas Hoult.

Oh, this is so fascinating. I've seen two other Yorgos Lanthimos films (I really liked Killing of a Sacred Deer and didn't care for Dogtooth) and while on the surface this is a very straightforward narrative, his dark sense of humor and willingness to really delve into the more upsetting parts of humanity give this a very unique twist. All three main actresses are superb in their roles, but Olivia Colman is the strongest of them all -- her performance is stunning and unsettling and heartbreaking.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Favourite > Peter Pan (1960)
The Favourite > Zodiac
The Favourite < Breaking Away
The Favourite < Kwaidan
The Favourite < The Invisible Man
The Favourite > The Body Snatcher
The Favourite > Reservoir Dogs
The Favourite < Galaxy Quest
The Favourite < Center Stage
The Favourite > The Ten Commandments (1956)
The Favourite > Contact
The Favourite > Shakespeare Behind Bars

Final spot: #648 out of 2890.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

IMDb plot summary: Miles Morales becomes the Spider-Man of his reality and crosses paths with his counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat to all reality.
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman. Starring Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Mahershala Ali.

This is so, so much fun. The Peter Parker origin story has now had three different iterations in the past 20 years, so it's beautifully refreshing to have a Spider-Man movie that takes a different route - and as fond as I am of the original 2002 Spider-Man movie, I think Miles Morales is a much more interesting and dynamic character than any film version of Parker ever was. This movie is funny and smart and moving and basically everything I like my superhero movies to be. So much fun.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse > How Do You Know
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse > Show Me Love
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse > Boyhood
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < Bullets Over Broadway
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < The Matrix
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse > Eyes Without a Face
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < Inglourious Basterds
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < The Grey
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse > Sita Sings the Blues
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < Reefer Madness (2005)
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse < Welcome to Dongmakgol

Final spot: #309 out of 2889.

The Long Day Closes (1992)

IMDb plot summary: A young British boy comes of age among his loving family and the austere Catholic Church as he realizes his love of cinema and his homosexuality.
Directed by Terence Davies. Starring Marjorie Yates, Leigh McCormack, Anthony Watson, and Nicholas Lamont.

I feel like calling this a film isn't quite right, it's more like a series of paintings with music. I can absolutely see why someone would love this -- pieces of this are strikingly beautiful -- but with the scattered nature of it I found myself spending most of my time trying to draw connections between the bits of narrative. I was somehow never able to fully immerse myself into the movie, despite it being the exact kind of movie I SHOULD be able to do that with. As a result, it didn't hit me emotionally the way that I hoped it might. I admire it, but do not love it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Long Day Closes > How Do You Know
The Long Day Closes < L'atalante
The Long Day Closes > Cabaret
The Long Day Closes > The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
The Long Day Closes < Say Anything...
The Long Day Closes > The Thin Man
The Long Day Closes > Flight of the Navigator
The Long Day Closes < Au Revoir Les Enfants
The Long Day Closes > Pushing Tin
The Long Day Closes < Panic Room

Final spot: #828 out of 2888. So many 8s and 2s.

Dust (1985)

IMDb plot summary: A South African spinster murders her father after he rapes the wife of the black foreman for his plantation.
Directed by Marion Hänsel. Starring Jane Birkin, Trevor Howard, John Matshikiza, and Nadine Uwampa.

Oh, this is so fascinating. And so sad. The story of a woman who has so long lived under someone else's control that even when she gets freedom, she slowly becomes everything she hates about the father who controlled her. It's an extremely slow movie, but once I got into the rhythms of the character, I found myself spellbound.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dust > Wonder Boys
Dust > Waitress
Dust < Into the Woods (2014)
Dust < Bruce Almighty
Dust > Hairspray Live!
Dust < Rocky
Dust < Deadpool
Dust > Brave
Dust > Robot and Frank
Dust < The African Queen

Final spot: #614 out of 2887.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

IMDb plot summary: In 1993, a teenage girl is forced into a gay conversion therapy center by her conservative guardians.
Directed by Desiree Akhavan. Starring Chloë Grace Moretz, Sasha Lane, John Gallagher Jr., and Emily Skeggs.

This movie is heartbreaking at times. It does a good job as well of focusing it very much on the personal aspects of the story, not digging deeply into the morality of the theology behind what's happening and getting preachy about it in the abstract, just showing the kind of impact it had on the characters themselves. I found John Gallagher Jr.'s character absolutely fascinating and wish we'd gotten some more story about him.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > Wonder Boys
The Miseducation of Cameron Post < Waitress
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > The Slipper and the Rose
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > The Return of Captain Invincible
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > Marooned
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > Notting Hill
The Miseducation of Cameron Post < A Clockwork Orange
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > Billy Elliot the Musical Live
The Miseducation of Cameron Post < The Mummy (1932)
The Miseducation of Cameron Post < Breaking Away
The Miseducation of Cameron Post < How to Train Your Dragon
The Miseducation of Cameron Post > The Secret Garden (1987)

Final spot: #753 out of 2886.

The Fear of 13 (2015)

IMDb plot summary: A convicted murderer who has spent 23 years on Death Row tells his story.
Directed by David Sington.

I think this might be the only documentary given to me for my movie challenge this time around! I have mixed feelings about it. While there's no denying Yarris has a gift for storytelling, I wish there was a little bit more to the movie than just him narrating his own life. I think the narrative would benefit a bit from some outside commentary. This narrows the focus in a way that I'm not sure does full justice to the story -- it made me doubt him more than anything, despite the pre-movie disclaimer that his stories had been independently verified. I'm also unsure how the title ties in. It's a brief throwaway line that doesn't really connect thematically in any way I can see. Overall, it's an interesting story, I'm just not sure that film is the most interesting way to tell it.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Fear of 13 > The Switch
The Fear of 13 < Waitress
The Fear of 13 < The Slipper and the Rose
The Fear of 13 > Bill Cunningham New York
The Fear of 13 < Lucky Number Slevin
The Fear of 13 < Videodrome
The Fear of 13 < Sleepers
The Fear of 13 > Spider-Man 2
The Fear of 13 > Legend
The Fear of 13 > The Kids Are All Right
The Fear of 13 > Man on Fire

Final spot: #1240 out of 2885.

The History of Future Folk (2012)

IMDb plot summary: The possibly exaggerated origin story of the real life alien bluegrass band, Future Folk, that has been playing for NYC audiences for the better part of a decade.
Directed by John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker. Starring Nils d'Aulaire, Jay Klaitz, Julie Ann Emery, and April L. Hernandez.

This is such a strange, unusual movie, and it's a premise I'm totally on board with. The (maybe minor?) problem here is that the movie takes this amazing premise and then tries to do too many things with it. It tries to be a musical and a comedy and a romance and a sci-fi adventure all at once, and I'm not convinced it blends them together so much as it just kind of awkwardly hops from one to the other. It's a very likable mess, though, and I can definitely see it growing in my opinion on a rewatch.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The History of Future Folk > The Switch
The History of Future Folk > Waitress
The History of Future Folk < Boyhood
The History of Future Folk < Bruce Almighty
The History of Future Folk > Hairspray Live!
The History of Future Folk < Heavenly Creatures
The History of Future Folk > Deadpool
The History of Future Folk > A Raisin in the Sun
The History of Future Folk > Kiss Me, Stupid!
The History of Future Folk > Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Final spot: #591 out of 2880.

Hellraiser (1987)

IMDb plot summary: An unfaithful wife encounters the zombie of her dead lover; the demonic cenobites are pursuing him after he escaped their sadomasochistic underworld.
Directed by Clive Barker. Starring Andrew Robinson, Claire Higgins, Ashley Laurence, and Sean Chapman.

This is a very cool idea. The evil creatures at the heart of this story have a great concept surrounding them, and I can see how that caught on as a franchise, but this film hardly explores any of that in favor of just gross imagery that doesn't lead anywhere. It's a very disappointing execution of a much more interesting idea.

1 star.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Hellraiser < The Switch
Hellraiser < The 39 Steps
Hellraiser > Capote
Hellraiser > The Ghost and the Darkness
Hellraiser < Holiday Affair
Hellraiser < Dracula
Hellraiser > Airborne
Hellraiser > Medium Cool
Hellraiser > Rambo
Hellraiser > In Cold Blood
Hellraiser < The Godfather

Final spot: #2298 out of 2879.

I and You (2018)

No IMDb plot summary.
Directed by Edward Hall. Starring Maisie Williams and Zach Wyatt.

To my shame, despite Lauren Gunderson being my theater's resident playwright, I'd never read or seen this play of hers, which had its world premiere at my theater several years before I started working there. While I'm not entirely sold on Maisie Williams and Zach Wyatt's performances, the script is lovely and great and funny and touching, and it gives young actors such rich roles. I'm glad I finally got to see it in some form.

How it entered my Flickchart:
I and You > The Switch
I and You < Waitress
I and You > The Slipper and the Rose
I and You > The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes
I and You > Notting Hill
I and You > There Will Be Blood
I and You > Up in the Air
I and You > Young Adult
I and You < Little Children
I and You < Thor: Ragnarok

Final spot: #725 out of 2877.

The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (1965)

IMDb plot summary: British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the Cold War during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
Directed by Martin Ritt. Starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Oskar Werner, and Sam Wanamaker.

John le Carre is widely praised as a writer, but movie adaptations of his work are almost always a miss for me. They're so dense and slow and tedious that any excitement or intrigue that may be found in them gets lost for me. That is definitely the case here. I just don't care about any of this, not even with an actor like Richard Burton in the lead, who I usually find very compelling. But this is just such a bureaucratic spy story, it feels like filing paperwork just to watch it.

1 star.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < The Switch
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < Mother (2009)
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold > Capote
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < Braveheart
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold > Playtime
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < The Number 23
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold > Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < Inkheart
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < The Overnight
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold > Gideon, Tuba Warrior
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold > Homicide
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold < Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Final spot: #2400 out of 2876.

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

IMDb plot summary: After a humiliating commando performance at The Kennedy Center, the Barden Bellas enter an international competition that no American group has ever won in order to regain their status and right to perform.
Directed by Elizabeth Banks. Starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Brittany Snow.

I liked the first Pitch Perfect pretty well, and I love musicals and Anna Kendrick in general, so this was a decent choice for me even if sequels typically aren't very interesting to me. This one definitely capitalizes on its celebrity cameos and guests more than I remember the first one doing. Its dialogue is very Ryan Murphy-esque in that it walks RIGHT along that line between hilarious and cringey. Rebel Wilson nearly always falls in the latter, while most of the rest of it falls in the former. The songs in this are not nearly as fun as the first one, or maybe I'm just over the a cappella mashup phase (both are possible). Also, Ben Platt needed to sing more. Overall, pretty enjoyable and fluffy but ultimately forgettable.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Pitch Perfect 2 > Bully
Pitch Perfect 2 < Waitress
Pitch Perfect 2 < Liberal Arts
Pitch Perfect 2 > Rosemary's Baby
Pitch Perfect 2 < Lucky Number Slevin
Pitch Perfect 2 > Rushmore
Pitch Perfect 2 > Hopscotch
Pitch Perfect 2 < Duck Soup
Pitch Perfect 2 < Spider-Man: Homecoming
Pitch Perfect 2 < Wreck-It Ralph
Pitch Perfect 2 > After the Wedding

Final spot: #1188 out of 2875.

Natural Born Killers (1994)

IMDb plot summary: Two victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.
Directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Tom Sizemore, and Robert Downey, Jr.

This is a wildly stylistic movie but I don't know if it's actually good. Its style feels more than a little gimmicky, and then just becomes kind of irritating in the final third of the movie which is just nonstop shooting in a way that is not interesting to watch for me. There are some good moments -- Juliette Lewis is particularly excellent as Mallory -- but there's a lot that falls a little short for me, especially when I think it tries to actually make a point about media celebrities.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Natural Born Killers < Silent Hill
Natural Born Killers > Footloose (2011)
Natural Born Killers > Zelig
Natural Born Killers > Avatar
Natural Born Killers > Paper Moon
Natural Born Killers > Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
Natural Born Killers > Dunkirk
Natural Born Killers > The Whole Nine Yards
Natural Born Killers > Downfall
Natural Born Killers > Dirty Dancing
Natural Born Killers < Bye Bye Birdie (1995)

Final spot: #1440 out of 2874.

Real Genius (1985)

IMDb plot summary: Teenage geniuses deal with their abilities while developing a high-powered laser for a university project. When their professor intends to turn their work into a military weapon, they decide to ruin his plans.
Directed by Martha Coolidge. Starring Val Kilmer, Gabriel Jarret, Michelle Meyrink, and William Atherton.

This is... fine. It's very playful and very 80's and just on the edge of being a frat bro movie without ACTUALLY being one. There are some entertaining moments here (I like the gag about the dude disappearing into the closet in the first half of the movie) and it's pleasant enough, I just don't find it either terribly funny or terribly exciting. It's just in the middle.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Real Genius < Silent Hill
Real Genius > Footloose (2011)
Real Genius > Shadows and Fog
Real Genius > After the Thin Man
Real Genius > Short Circuit
Real Genius > The Tempest (2010)
Real Genius < Dunkirk
Real Genius > Teacher of the Year
Real Genius > Cinderella (1950)
Real Genius < Anna and the King
Real Genius < Memphis Belle

Final spot: #1465 out of 2873.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

IMDb plot summary: In December 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Directed by Sidney Lumet. Starring Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, and Ingrid Bergman.

There's something very satisfying about watching an Agatha Christie story play out, even if you know every step of it. I revisited the book and saw the 2017 movie not long ago, so the plot points of this movie were fresh in my mind, but seeing how the actors bring these various characters to life is so fascinating, and watching them interact with each other is such fun. This version focuses more on the mystery and less on the emotional component in comparison to the 2017 adaptation, and I don't think that's better or worse, just a different interpretation. A solid, well-made book-to-film transition.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Murder on the Orient Express > Silent Hill
Murder on the Orient Express < Little Children
Murder on the Orient Express < Thor
Murder on the Orient Express > Charlie St. Cloud
Murder on the Orient Express > Hellboy
Murder on the Orient Express > Harakiri
Murder on the Orient Express > Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
Murder on the Orient Express < The Minus Man
Murder on the Orient Express > 21
Murder on the Orient Express > 2046
Murder on the Orient Express > Undercover Blues

Final spot: #1088 out of 2870.

Vagabond (1985)

IMDb summary: A young woman's body is found frozen in a ditch. Through flashbacks and interviews, we see the events that led to her inevitable death.
Directed by Agnès Varda. Starring Sandrine Bonnaire, Yolande Moreau, Macha Méril, and Stéphane Freiss.

Of the three Agnes Varda films I've seen so far, this is probably the one that is likely to have the strongest impact on me long-term. Mona is such an incredible character, distant and aimless and seemingly finding her own existence too much work. And as she drifts from situation to situation, seeing her interact with other people around her just elicits such a strong sense of empathetic sadness for her. It's a dark, tragic tale, but it's beautifully crafted, and I think it's one I'm going to be think about for a long time.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Vagabond > Silent Hill
Vagabond > Little Children
Vagabond < E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Vagabond > Bruce Almighty
Vagabond < Enchanted
Vagabond > Les Miserables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary

And now Flickchart is just getting stuck and won't let me rank further than this, but that lands it at #449, or 84%, which seems about right, so we'll let that stay.

Konrad (1985)

IMDb plot summary: Konrad is a perfect instant child "born" in a factory at age 8. Due to a mistake in the factory's computer, Konrad is delivered to Bertie Bartolotti, a woman whose life and appearance are in a constant state of disarray.
Directed by Nell Cox. Starring Max Wright, Polly Holliday, Huckleberry Fox, and Ned Beatty.

This is such a strange, strange movie. It was made for TV and it's evident in every bit of the script, the acting, and the cinematography. It feels even more strongly like some sort of PSA for children, but what in the world is the message being sent here? "Don't stress about being perfect," I guess. There's nothing overtly cringy or uncomfortable or BAD here, it's all too goshdarn sincere for that. It's too innocent and well-intentioned to hate, but it's too awkward to love. It just sits in a weird in-between place.


This movie is so obscure it is not actually on Flickchart yet. I've requested it to be added to the database and will come back and post an update when it's been included.

Autumn Sonata (1978)

IMDb plot summary: A married daughter who longs for her mother's love is visited by the latter, a successful concert pianist.
Directed by Ingmar Bergman. Starring Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, and Halvar Björk.

There's a lot about this movie that I like a lot. It's slow and thoughtful about its characters in a way that Bergman often is -- it's very theatrical. Individual lines and insights are gorgeous. These are such great characters. It just has a strange emotional arc, hitting its peak in the middle of the film and coming down somewhat anticlimactically after that. But overall, scene by scene, it's really beautifully done.

4 stars.

How it landed in my Flickchart:
Autumn Sonata > Silent Hill
Autumn Sonata > The Thief of Bagdad
Autumn Sonata < E.T.
Autumn Sonata < Bruce Almighty
Autumn Sonata > Hairspray Live!
Autumn Sonata < Heavenly Creatures
Autumn Sonata > Deadpool
Autumn Sonata < Contagion
Autumn Sonata < Collateral
Autumn Sonata < The Florida Project
Autumn Sonata < The Great Race
Autumn Sonata < Dog Day Afternoon

Final spot: #603 out of 2866.

Faust: A German Folk Legend (1926)

IMDb plot summary: The demon Mephisto wagers with God that he can corrupt a mortal man's soul.
Directed by F.W. Murnau. Starring Gösta Ekman, Emil Jannings, Camilla Horn, and Frida Richard.

Like a lot of silent dramas, this one feels especially dated in its acting, but that doesn't mean it's not interesting to watch. It enhances the folk tale aspect of it and paints these characters broadly. The story itself seems to be a bit wobbly, with Faust's motivations unclear -- we go from him wanting to save the suffering from the plague to abruptly being all about chasing this woman (who clearly is not interested in him). The last half hour gets pretty muddled and not nearly as interesting as the first. Some interesting moments, but not a movie I'd jump to rewatch.

1.5 stars.

How it landed on my Flickchart:
Faust < Bye Bye Birdie (1995)
Faust > Baby Mama
Faust < Shadows and Fog
Faust > La Dolce Vita
Faust < The Librarian: Quest for the Spear
Faust < What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Faust < The Day of the Triffids
Faust > The American President
Faust > Bridge to Terabithia
Faust > The Spanish Apartment
Faust < Mr. Pip

Final spot: #1950 out of 2865.

The Last Emperor (1987)

IMDb plot summary: The story of the final Emperor of China.
Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. Starring John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, and Ruocheng Ying.

This is a very elegant movie. It looks gorgeous (seriously, just about any screenshot you could take of this movie would look amazing) but it's also a very well-written, compelling script, and the acting all round is solid. It's a subject I didn't really know a lot about, and hearing this story told throughout this character's life is so interesting. There's just a lot to like about this, and I'm glad I finally saw it, though I'm having trouble putting into words everything that I think about it.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Last Emperor > Dirty Dancing
The Last Emperor > What's Eating Gilbert Grape
The Last Emperor < The Big Sick
The Last Emperor < The Kid (1921)
The Last Emperor > Gremlins
The Last Emperor < Robin Hood (1973)
The Last Emperor < Jack Goes Boating
The Last Emperor < The Invisible Man
The Last Emperor < Hairspray Live!
The Last Emperor > Bride of Frankenstein
The Last Emperor < Army of Darkness

Final spot: #623 out of 2864.

A Thief in the Night (1972)

IMDb plot summary: The story of Patty, a young woman caught up in living for the present with little concern for the future. She meets and marries a young man and her life seems great, until one moment she awakens to find her husband gone and the radio reporting millions of people have mysteriously disappeared. As dramatic, earth shaking events begin to unfold around her, Patty realizes she is living in the end times spoken of in biblical prophecy.
Directed by Donald W. Thompson. Starring Patty Dunning, Mike Niday, Colleen Niday, and Maryann Rachford.

Not a lot to say about this one. It's pretty clumsy. I watched it with some of my favorite podcasters riffing it, and I think it would have been far too dull otherwise. It does kick into gear a bit with the dystopian ending, but even that is done pretty awkwardly.

1.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Thief in the Night < Crocodile Dundee
A Thief in the Night > Palo Alto
A Thief in the Night < It's Always Fair Weather
A Thief in the Night < My Girlfriend's Boyfriend
A Thief in the Night < Scotland, PA
A Thief in the Night < Little Witch Academia
A Thief in the Night < Treasure Planet
A Thief in the Night > Avanti!
A Thief in the Night < Lawless
A Thief in the Night < Charlotte's Web (1973)
A Thief in the Night > Before I Fall

Final spot: #2134 out of 2863.

The Horse's Mouth (1958)

IMDb plot summary: A somewhat vulgar but dedicated painter searches for the perfect realization of his artistic vision, much to the chagrin of others.
Directed by Ronald Neame. Starring Alec Guinness, Kay Walsh, Renee Houston, and Mike Morgan.

This movie has a weird lack of overarching story. Even from early in the film, there's a sense that this character's life and deeds are pretty cyclical, and it does feel very episodic, with various events not necessarily leading to each other but just sort of happening near each other. But it's a pretty fun ride. Alec Guinness is delightful, and his repartee with those around him is really fun to watch. The dialogue in this film is lovely to listen to -- smart and funny and interesting. I don't know that it wowed me, but it was a solid watch.

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Horse's Mouth > Downfall
The Horse's Mouth < What's Eating Gilbert Grape
The Horse's Mouth < The Terminal
The Horse's Mouth > Star Trek: Nemesis
The Horse's Mouth < Nine to Five
The Horse's Mouth < Blade
The Horse's Mouth > Maine Pyar Kiya
The Horse's Mouth > Man on Fire
The Horse's Mouth > Steamboat Bill, Jr.
The Horse's Mouth > No eres tu, so you
The Horse's Mouth > The Good Dinosaur

Final spot: #1208 out of 2862.

1408 (2007)

IMDb plot summary: A man who specializes in debunking paranormal occurrences checks into the fabled room 1408 in the Dolphin Hotel. Soon after settling in, he confronts genuine terror.
Directed by Mikael Håfström. Starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, and Tony Shalhoub.

I knew this was an adaptation of a Stephen King story and that it was set in a hotel room, but that's about all I knew going in. It definitely has a strong atmosphere to it, and it builds nicely in the horror throughout, aside from about a 20-minute stretch in the middle where I became very keenly aware of how much it was just a list of creepy things happening. Had that section been cut or shortened and the momentum not lost, I think this movie would land higher on my chart. As it is, I think it's pretty decent but not great. It's very Stephen King-esque, in that the spooky parts are effective and the dramatic parts mostly rub me the wrong way. (I also discovered there are like four different filmed endings to this. I watched the one identified on Wikipedia as the "Director's Cut Ending.")

3 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
1408 > The Post
1408 < Up in the Air
1408 > Phantom Thread
1408 < The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
1408 < Batman
1408 < Misery
1408 < John Carter
1408 < Punch-Drunk Love
1408 < Thor
1408 > Broken Blossoms or the Yellow Man and the Girl
1408 < Hamlet (1990)

Final spot: #1070 out of 2861.

Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)

IMDb plot summary: Cleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Directed by Agnès Varda. Starring Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, and Dorothée Blanck.

This is the kind of story that a lot of filmmakers try to tell -- a slow, musing look at someone's reaction to terrible news or, in this case, anticipation of terrible news. Some of these are great, others are just slow and meaningless. This one falls somewhere in between for me, but leaning toward greatness, and I feel like another rewatch or two might bring that out for me. The editing is particularly interesting, as it does a really phenomenal job of getting into the anxious mind of the character as she goes from activity to activity, trying to get her mind off the news she is certain is coming. There are pieces of this that I think are really beautiful (her fights with her maid, her breakdown over music, her interactions with the soldier toward the end) as well as quite a few that just don't gel with me (most notably the silent movie she watches with her friend). There's a lot to like about it overall, though, and I'm glad I saw it.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Cleo from 5 to 7 > The Whole Nine Yards
Cleo from 5 to 7 < What the Deaf Man Heard
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Frances Ha
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Cool Runnings
Cleo from 5 to 7 < Christmas in Connecticut
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Smiles of a Summer Night
Cleo from 5 to 7 < Kolya
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Battle Royale
Cleo from 5 to 7 > Last Year at Marienbad
Cleo from 5 to 7 > All That Jazz
Cleo from 5 to 7 < The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain
Final spot: #829 out of 2860.

Kicking & Screaming (2005)

IMDb plot summary: Family man Phil Weston, a lifelong victim of his father's competitive nature, takes on the coaching duties of a kids' soccer team, and soon finds that he's also taking on his father's dysfunctional way of relating.
Directed by Jesse Dylan. Starring Will Ferrell, Robert Duvall, Mike Ditka, and Kate Walsh.

I mentioned to one person I was watching this for my movie challenge, and got an "I'm sorry" kind of response. But, honestly, this isn't bad. I mean, it's not *good* or anything. But it's pretty inoffensive. I seldom find Will Ferrell as annoying as many of the other comedians he gets compared to. And this is such a weirdly low-key movie, even with these little moments of more manic comedy. It's still just kind of... pleasant. No personality to speak of, but at least it didn't bother me. If it had more of a personality I'd probably have more to say of it, but as it is, it's a definite "*shrug* Sure," without any strong opinion. (Making this the most boring review ever. Sorry about that.)

2 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kicking & Screaming < Wedding Crashers
Kicking & Screaming > The French Connection
Kicking & Screaming > The Ides of March
Kicking & Screaming < Dakota Skye
Kicking & Screaming > 13 Going on 30
Kicking & Screaming < Martian Child
Kicking & Screaming < Mission: Impossible
Kicking & Screaming < Scrooge
Kicking & Screaming > Bounce
Kicking & Screaming < Rebecca
Kicking & Screaming > Days of Heaven

Final spot: #1689 out of 2859.

Kwaidan (1964)

IMDb plot summary: A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi. Starring Michiyo Aratama, Rentarô Mikuni, Keiko Kishi, and Tatsuya Nakadai.

I knew nothing about this movie going in, not even that it was an anthology movie (and barely that it was a horror movie). While the first two stories are more compelling to me than the last two, the movie as a whole is stunning, both in terms of its look and its stories. It's so atmospheric and vivid. I'm glad I finally sat down and watched this one.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Kwaidan > V/H/S
Kwaidan > Peggy Sue Got Married
Kwaidan < Silver Linings Playbook
Kwaidan > American Dreamz
Kwaidan < Rurouni Kenshin
Kwaidan < Cats
Kwaidan < The Hunger Games
Kwaidan > Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
Kwaidan < The Land Before Time
Kwaidan < Beetlejuice
Kwaidan < Grave of the Fireflies
Kwaidan < What We Do in the Shadows

Final spot: #523 out of 2858.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

IMDb plot summary: In 1980s Italy, a romance blossoms between a seventeen year-old student and the older man hired as his father's research assistant.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino. Starring Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Amira Casar.

There are a lot of things about this that I really love. There are some stunning performances here and some really lovely bits of dialogue. (I was particularly drawn to Michael Stuhlbarg's ending monologue.) That being said though, I had a real tough time with the age gap between the characters. Even taking into account the much lower age of consent in Italy and how assertive Elio is in this relationship, he is such a *teenager* that it is tough not to see Oliver as predatory from very early on, and that colors the story in ways I couldn't get past. A lot of good things, but one that weighs down the rest of the movie for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Call Me By Your Name < Oliver Twist
Call Me By Your Name > The In-Laws
Call Me By Your Name > A Dangerous Method
Call Me By Your Name > Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
Call Me By Your Name > The 'Burbs
Call Me By Your Name > Must Love Dogs
Call Me By Your Name > The Dresser
Call Me By Your Name < Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Call Me By Your Name > A Time to Kill
Call Me By Your Name > The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
Call Me By Your Name > Cinderella (1950)

Final spot: #1441 out of 2857.

Sharknado 4: The Forth Awakens (2016)

IMDb plot summary: Fin, his family and the cosmos have been blissfully sharknado-free in the five years since the most recent attack, but now sharks and tornadoes are being whipped up in unexpected ways and places.
Directed by Anthony C. Ferrante. Starring Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Masiela Lusha, and Cody Linley.

I watched the first Sharknado several years ago and found it decently enjoyable, if not as funny as other people found it. There needs to be a bit more earnestness involved in liking a so-bad-it's-good movie for its badness, and more jokes involved for it to be an actually-good-and-funny movie. I never saw parts two and three, but having seen part four, I don't really feel an urge to go back and watch them. This installment leans heavily on the tongue-in-cheek but without actually incorporating humor so much as just calling everything a "[random item]nado" and frequently quoting other, better, movies. It's mostly just... loud, both visually and auditorily. I don't even think it would be fun to snark with a group, there's too much happening the whole time and it's very distracting. So... not inspired to hop back into this franchise.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Sharknado 4 < Nowhere Boy
Sharknado 4 < The In-Laws
Sharknado 4 < The Yellow Handkerchief
Sharknado 4 > Yours, Mine & Ours (2005)
Sharknado 4 < Clash of the Titans (1981)
Sharknado 4 > Bright Eyes
Sharknado 4 > Celebrity
Sharknado 4 < Frida
Sharknado 4 < Three Guys Named Mike
Sharknado 4 > Sahara (2017)
Sharknado 4 > A Cinderella Story
Sharknado 4 > If Only

Final spot: #2605 out of 2856.

Summer Stock (1950)

IMDb plot summary: A small-town farmer, down on her luck, finds her homestead invaded by a theatrical troupe invited to stay by her ne'er-do-well sister.
Directed by Charles Walters. Starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Eddie Bracken, and Gloria DeHaven.

While this movie doesn't knock me off my feet the way a few classic musicals do, it's really solid. Plenty of Gene Kelly dancing, plenty of Judy Garland singing, a charming little love story, and even though it's a little bit confusing as to how this can actually end well for most of these characters (thinking about the logistics of their future relationships is not terribly positive), it taps into that "good old-fashioned happy ending" feeling that I knew I instinctively wanted for this movie from the moment it opened. My favorite moment was the Kelly dance sequence where he uses the sounds of the stage around him -- a creaky floorboard, a newspaper on the floor -- to create new sounds and rhythms to play with. It's the sort of carefree, "well, hey, look what I can do" style I've always loved in Kelly's dancing, and it really works here. Overall, a good movie, if not necessarily a great one.

3.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Summer Stock > Father of the Bride Part II
Summer Stock < The Hustler
Summer Stock > Lilies of the Field
Summer Stock > Mr. Holmes
Summer Stock > Flight of the Navigator
Summer Stock < Spellbound (2002)
Summer Stock < Inherit the Wind
Summer Stock < Bubba Ho-tep
Summer Stock > Pushing Tin
Summer Stock > 28 Up
Summer Stock < Au Revoir Les Enfants

Final spot: #794 out of 2855.

The Tribe (2014)

IMDb plot summary: A deaf boy joins a boarding school for similar children. Confronted by the violent and criminal antics of some of the other boys and girls, he struggles to conform and join the 'tribe'.
Directed by Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi. Starring Hryhoriy Fesenko, Yana Novikova, Rosa Babiy, and Oleksandr Dsiadevych.

This is such a tough movie for me to rank, because I seriously appreciate the artistry of this movie while actually hating the story itself. I love that the film is entirely in sign language with no translation or subtitles. That's such a bold, delicious choice, and I wanted to love the film just for that. Unfortunately, it's a crime drama that doesn't seem to go in any new directions (though I may have missed something with the language barrier), and on top of that, it's very viscerally unpleasant. There were at least two scenes where I had to shrink the browser because it almost physically hurt me to watch it. It's very interestingly made, but it's just not a movie that I would ever care to see again.

How it entered my Flickchart:
The Tribe < Father of the Bride Part II
The Tribe < Picnic
The Tribe > Breach
The Tribe < Anchors Aweigh
The Tribe > The Firm
The Tribe > Inkheart
The Tribe > Short Circuit 2
The Tribe < Annie (1982)
The Tribe > It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
The Tribe > My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
The Tribe < First Blood

Final spot: #2333 out of 2854.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

IMDb plot summary: The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.
Directed by Richard Linklater. Starring Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, and Shawn Andrews.

As much as I love Linklater's writing, this one doesn't do a lot for me. Maybe I had to be a high school partier or a teenage boy in the 70s or the 90s to really get it. There were so many characters to keep track of, and none of the female characters were anything interesting, and Linklater's dialogue was not nearly as interesting as it usually is. It's fine, but it missed the mark for me.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dazed and Confused < The Asphalt Jungle
Dazed and Confused > Withnail & I
Dazed and Confused > X-Men
Dazed and Confused > Checking Out
Dazed and Confused < Twin Sisters
Dazed and Confused < Ready Player One
Dazed and Confused < Dear Frankie
Dazed and Confused < Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dazed and Confused > A Knight's Tale
Dazed and Confused > The Disappearance of Alice Creed
Dazed and Confused > The Spanish Prisoner
Dazed and Confused < The Man in the Iron Mask

Final spot: #1595 out of 2853.

Venom (2018)

IMDb plot summary: When Eddie Brock acquires the powers of a symbiote, he will have to release his alter-ego "Venom" to save his life.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer. Starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, and Scott Haze.

My hope going into this was that it was ridiculous enough that I would have a good time with it, since I had a tough time imagining it would be an objectively *good* movie in any sense. Fortunately, it was just as ridiculous as I expected. Our antagonist had such deliciously cartoon villain line deliveries that I had a ton of fun from the moment he showed up, and Eddie and Venom's interactions added to that over-the-top nonsense. It's wildly messy and frequently doesn't make a lot of sense, but oh boy was it fun.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Venom > Batman Forever
Venom < Breaking Away
Venom < Good Time
Venom < Hugo
Venom < Interiors
Venom > Adventures in Babysitting
Venom < The Family Man
Venom > Away From Her
Venom > One, Two, Three
Venom > Choke

Final spot: #1361 out of 2852.

Monsters and Men (2018)

IMDb plot summary: The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.
Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Starring Chanté Adams, Giuseppe Ardizzone, Nicole Beharie, and Cara Buono.

This is an interesting concept for a movie, but the individual pieces to it aren't quite as interesting. The final piece is definitely the highlight of the film, which is kind of unexpected, since it's the least directly connected to the central conflict.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Monsters and Men > The Lion in Winter (2003)
Monsters and Men < Breaking Away
Monsters and Men > Captain Phillips
Monsters and Men < American Teen
Monsters and Men < Hannah and Her Sisters
Monsters and Men < The Happening
Monsters and Men < The Minus Man
Monsters and Men > Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
Monsters and Men < Lilies of the Field
Monsters and Men > Guys and Dolls
Monsters and Men > Away We Go

Final spot: #1053 out of 2851.

A Star Is Born (2018)

IMDb plot summary: A musician helps a young singer and actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
Directed by Bradley Cooper. Starring Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliott, and Andrew Dice Clay.

I've only seen one of the previous versions of this story, and that one a long time ago, but I didn't remember that one being quite so... purposelessly depressing. This movie is clearly trying to be *about* something, but what that is is very muddled, and that makes it messy. Gaga sounds great in all her songs, even if they're not interesting, and Bradley Cooper does more interesting acting than he usually does, but it all comes together very clumsily.

How it entered my Flickchart:
A Star Is Born > The Lion in Winter (2003)
A Star Is Born < How to Train Your Dragon
A Star Is Born < Good Time
A Star Is Born < Hugo
A Star Is Born < Interiors
A Star Is Born > Dirty Dancing
A Star Is Born > Office Space
A Star Is Born < The Last Unicorn
A Star Is Born > Marathon
A Star Is Born > Star Trek Into Darkness
A Star Is Born < The Road

Final spot: #1349 out of 2850.

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble (1993)

IMDb plot summary: On Halloween night, two precocious little girls try to save their parents from the greedy clutches of their nasty old Capitalist aunt. Magic abounds and they meet new albeit strange friends along the way.
Directed by Stuart Margolin. Starring Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Cloris Leachman, and Phil Fondacaro.

My husband and I started watching this on Hulu because it looked ridiculous and then kept watching because it was, indeed, ridiculous. Cloris Leachman as the evil witch is so delightfully over the top and nonsensical.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble < Lolita (1997)
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble < Anastasia
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Mamma Mia!
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Nick Nolte: No Exit
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Out of Time
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Moms' Night Out
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Passion
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Sideways
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Wild Strawberries
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble > Nine

Final spot: #2138 out of 2849.

The Christmas Toy (1986)

IMDb plot summary: It's Christmas Eve, and Rugby the Tiger remembers how he was the Christmas Toy last year, and thinks he's going to be unwrapped again. And it's up to Apple the Doll, whom Rugby supplanted as favorite toy, to tell him what's in store. 

Directed by Eric Till. Starring Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmore, Kathryn Mullen, and Jerry Nelson.

It's kind of tough to figure out how to review a children's Christmas puppet show made for television. And this is definitely FOR children, as opposed to some of the other Henson/Muppet stuff that is clearly meant for the whole family. But there's nothing in here for adult viewers. It's a very simple story with childlike logic. It's kind of cute, I guess, but nine years later Toy Story would come out and tell the exact same story but in a much more widely relatable way.

I'm so clearly *not* the audience for this that I'm having a tough time figuring out how to rank it. I was bored about half the time and annoyed by some of the voices, but that's not a fair judgment of it since it is in no way trying to appeal to adults, so... maybe it's effective with kids? *shrug*

How it entered my Flickchart:

The Christmas Toy < Captain Fantastic

The Christmas Toy > Nine (2009)

The Christmas Toy < The General

The Christmas Toy > Brokeback Mountain

The Christmas Toy > McLintock!

The Christmas Toy > Meet the Parents

The Christmas Toy > Haxan

The Christmas Toy < X2

The Christmas Toy < The Sound of Music

The Christmas Toy > 12 Days of Terror

The Christmas Toy < Spy

Final spot: #1799 out of 2848.

Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

IMDb plot summary: A group of misfits enter a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament in order to save their cherished local gym from the onslaught of a corporate health fitness chain.
Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. Starring Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller, and Rip Torn.

Ugh. OK, I chuckled once or twice (the verbal sparring between Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn had some clever lines, and I liked the concept that one of the kids in the team didn't remember the pirate) but that was about it, and it was way overwhelmed by the cringey-ness of the rest of it. Particularly its treatment of the three female characters. Having your male and female leads and start off with him immediately undercutting her professionalism with creepy remarks about her body is not a good way to make me root for that character. Like it seems like a small thing but this movie is just infested with the idea that women are either trophies to be won (alllllmost subverted nicely at the end but then, no, he had to get the girl after all) or a punchline about how funny it is when women are unattractive. If the rest of the movie were funnier, it could compensate better for this fatal flaw, but as it is... egh.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Dodgeball < Captain Fantastic
Dodgeball < Twist of Faith
Dodgeball < Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Dodgeball > Men in Black II
Dodgeball > Hollywoodland
Dodgeball > Chicken Little
Dodgeball > Keith
Dodgeball > Cold Mountain
Dodgeball < Stuart Little 2
Dodgeball < The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Dodgeball > Love in the Afternoon

Final spot: #2501 out of 2847.

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

IMDb plot summary: John McClane and a young hacker join forces to take down master cyber-terrorist Thomas Gabriel in Washington D.C.
Directed by Len Wiseman. Starring Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, and Maggie Q.

Well, this is pretty dumb and not terribly fun. At least Die Hard 3 was enjoyably stupid.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Live Free or Die Hard < The Lion in Winter (2003)
Live Free or Die Hard < The Goonies
Live Free or Die Hard > Live Free or Die Hard
Live Free or Die Hard < Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus
Live Free or Die Hard < The Host (2013)
Live Free or Die Hard > Employee of the Month
Live Free or Die Hard > John Q.
Live Free or Die Hard < The Lodger (2009)
Live Free or Die Hard < On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Live Free or Die Hard < Daddy Day Care
Live Free or Die Hard > Fever Pitch (2005)

Final spot: #2422 out of 2846.

Naked (1993)

IMDb plot summary: Parallel tales of two sexually obsessed men, one hurting and annoying women physically and mentally, one wandering around the city talking to strangers and experiencing dimensions of life.
Directed by Mike Leigh. Starring David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, and Greg Cruttwell.

This is kind of a masterpiece of an awful movie. And I don't mean awful as in badly made, but awful as in being wildly unpleasant and painful to watch. Every character here is in just a flood of deep seated existential pain and leaves me deeply saddened for them. But it's masterfully done. David Thewlis in particular is stunning in the lead role, with his snappy comebacks and smart remarks for everything anyone says and his rare, rare moments of letting that guard down. But really all the cast is phenomenal, and it hurts to watch people -- even not-very-good people -- go through the agony they feel just... being alive. This is one that's kind of tough to put into words because it doesn't lend itself to analysis for me as much as it does to an emotional response, but it's a pretty great movie, and the only reason it might not be ranked all that highly is because it's tough imagining I'd ever want to rewatch it.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Naked > The Other Boleyn Girl
Naked < Upside Down
Naked > Arthur Christmas
Naked > The Ten Commandments (1956)
Naked > The Abyss
Naked > Say Anything...
Naked < Southside with You
Naked > Titanic
Naked > The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Naked < Fury (1936)

Final spot: #739 out of 2845.

Tulpan (2008)

IMDb plot summary: On the steppes of Kazakhstan, Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her husband Ondas, and their three children. Asa, a dreamer who's slight of build and recently finished with a stint in the Russian Navy, tries to establish a life on the steppes. He, his friend Boni, and Ondas call on Tulpan, the only single girl in the area.
Directed by Sergei Dvortsevoy. Starring Askhat Kuchencherekov, Topelbergen Baisakalov, Samal Yeslyamova, and Ondas Besikbasov.

This movie moves very slowly, with lots of slice-of-life scenes of people examining sheep or kids just running around and playing. It fits pretty well overall into the story, though. I don't have a lot of strong feelings about this one, and therefore not actually that much to say about it. I'm not totally sold on the ending, but overall it's decent.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Tulpan < The Fighter
Tulpan > Chocolat
Tulpan > The High and the Mighty
Tulpan > Trading Places
Tulpan > American Hustle
Tulpan < Amazing Grace
Tulpan > Fargo
Tulpan > Julie & Julia
Tulpan > The 'Burbs
Tulpan < Killing Season

Final spot: #1472 out of 2844.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 (2016)

IMDb plot summary: A Portokalos family secret brings the beloved characters back together for an even bigger and Greeker wedding.
Directed by Kirk Jones. Starring Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine, and Lainie Kazan.

I barely remember the first movie, except I remember finding it fairly likable. I did not find this one quite as likable, and I'm trying to parse out why. Maybe it's because I'm not sure they had *new* jokes in this movie so much as just the same jokes, again. (I kept remembering the original jokes when they repeated them here.) It also suffers from the frequent problem with comedy sequels, in that the background cast of characters that drove a lot of the comedy takes over and becomes responsible for the emotional tone of the story as well. There are zero stakes in this movie because it's too busy just letting the characters be wacky. At least the first time around there WAS a clear conflict and things at stake. They toy around with it here but never actually land on a center to the movie. It's unfortunately one of those sequels that I was so unimpressed by that it makes it me wonder if I overvalued the original and if it wasn't that good either.

Oh, and also it gives me quite a bit of introvert anxiety. This family would go from annoying to nightmarish for me. No wonder that child wants to get away.

How it entered my Flickchart:
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < Hitchcock
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < Passion (1996)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 > To Kill a King
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 > The Number 23
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < In Cold Blood
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < Tiramisu
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < The Dark Side of the Moon
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 > The Stepford Wives (2004)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 > Antz
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 < Annie (1982)

Final spot: #2293 out of 2843.

Lady Bird (2017)

IMDb plot summary: In 2002, an artistically inclined seventeen-year-old girl comes of age in Sacramento, California.
Directed by Greta Gerwig. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, and Lucas Hedges.

I went into this movie really, really ready to love it. And then I ran into an unexpected wall. I think coming-of-age stories in some way only work if you have a point of connection with the character coming of age, and as much as Lady Bird apparently resonates with my entire generation... she doesn't with me. Every other character in her world does. I would instantly watch a movie all about her mother, or her best friend, or her first boyfriend, or any of the teachers at her school, or the snobby girl who becomes her friend. But in this world of interesting and nuanced characters, Lady Bird seems... flat. I have always felt a great deal of distance from Greta Gerwig as an actress, a practiced insincerity that completely cuts me off from her emotionally. I feel like this same distance surrounds the central character. And when you don't buy into the central character in this type of movie, it gets really difficult to give a crap about their coming-of-age arc when really you just want to know how Lady Bird's parents got together or what happens when her gay friend does come out to his parents. I guess we can confirm that Greta Gerwig and I are on two totally different wavelengths. It saddens me, because I so badly wanted to love this and at best I can credit it for a great cast of side characters.

2.5 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
Lady Bird > Hitchcock
Lady Bird < Mad Max: Fury Road
Lady Bird < The Majestic
Lady Bird < Nothing in Common
Lady Bird < True Grit (1969)
Lady Bird > The Whole Nine Yards
Lady Bird < The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Lady Bird > Dirty Dancing
Lady Bird > The Switch
Lady Bird > Splash
Lady Bird > The Matador

Final spot: #1355 out of 2842.

25th Hour (2002)

IMDb plot summary: Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
Directed by Spike Lee. Starring Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, and Rosario Dawson.

I knew next to nothing about this film before I started watching it, but it's kind of stunning. It's a whole different angle to the crime drama genre, which I too often feel tells the same exact story over and over again. This story not only takes place during a very unexplored window of time (between the arrest and the prison) but also tells its story in a very personal and beautiful way. The final 10 minutes or so are very emotionally moving. Definitely a movie that took me by surprise, but it's pretty great.

4 stars.

How it entered my Flickchart:
25th Hour > Happy Christmas
25th Hour > Man on Wire
25th Hour < Black Panther
25th Hour < Whale Rider
25th Hour > The Pirates of Penzance
25th Hour < Jack Goes Boating
25th Hour > CBGB
25th Hour > The Muppets
25th Hour > Hawking
25th Hour > Sanjuro

Final spot: #579 out of 2841.

Molly's Game (2017)

IMDb plot summary: The true story of Molly Bloom, an Olympic-class skier who ran the world's most exclusive high-stakes poker game and became an FBI target.
Directed by Aaron Sorkin. Starring Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, and Michael Cera.

No review for this one... because I didn't write it immediately and then I forgot most of the movie a week later. So that doesn't bode particularly well. I think it was fine?

How it entered my Flickchart:
Molly's Game > Happy Christmas
Molly's Game < Mad Max: Fury Road
Molly's Game < L'atalante
Molly's Game < The Pursuit of Happyness
Molly's Game < The Road
Molly's Game > V/H/S
Molly's Game < The Matador
Molly's Game > Crocodile Dundee
Molly's Game > Bully
Molly's Game > How Do You Know
Molly's Game > Splash

Final spot: #1354 out of 2840.